Those who have met Emerson Begolly in
person might describe him as a shy young man. But online, the
24-year-old was the complete opposite—he forcefully incited jihadist
violence against Americans and Jews. And when FBI agents attempted to
talk to him in 2011, he reached for a loaded handgun in his pocket and
then bit the agents who disarmed him.

Today,
a federal judge sentenced Begolly to eight years and six months in
prison for soliciting others to engage in acts of terrorism within the
United States and for using a firearm in relation to an assault on FBI
agents. Begolly pled guilty in August 2011 after being indicted less than a month earlier.

“This is a guy who definitely had the
potential to hurt people,” said Special Agent Blake McGuire, who led
part of the investigation from our Pittsburgh office. “He was a
disaffected U.S. citizen who was susceptible to the message of violent
extremism, and he became self-radicalized on the Internet. That type of
offender—the so-called lone wolf—is extremely dangerous,” McGuire added,
“because they can be difficult to discover before they resort to
violence.”

Begolly came to the FBI’s attention in
2010 when he began posting violent material on an Islamic extremist
Internet forum. Using the pseudonym Abu Nancy, the Pennsylvania resident
and occasional college student solicited fellow jihadists to use
firearms and explosives against American police stations, post offices,
Jewish schools and daycare centers, military facilities, train lines,
and water plants. He further urged his audience to “write their legacy
in blood” and promised a special place in the afterlife for violent
action in the name of Allah.

Members of the Bureau’s Joint Terrorism
Task Forces in Pittsburgh and in Northern Virginia worked on the case
with U.S. attorneys in both jurisdictions. “We all shared the same
concern,” McGuire said, “that something might trigger this young man to
carry out his own personal jihad.”

Begolly was under surveillance during the summer of 2010 when he legally purchased an assault weapon. Several
months later, he escalated his online postings by soliciting jihadists
to violence by posting a manual on how to manufacture a bomb.

Shortly after the bomb-making post, agents
obtained search warrants for the homes of Begolly’s parents, where he
often stayed. While the searches were being conducted, two other agents
approached Begolly at a fast food restaurant near Pittsburgh to speak
with him. That’s when he reached for the loaded handgun in his pocket.
As the agents subdued him, he bit their fingers, trying to free himself
and reach for his gun. His actions were consistent with a previous
online post in which he urged jihadists not to be taken alive by law
enforcement and to always carry a loaded firearm.

“When you combine troubling rhetoric that
escalates with weapons, it poses a tremendous threat to public safety,”
McGuire said. “Fortunately, we headed off any potential danger before it
happened.”

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Those who have met Emerson Begolly in
person might describe him as a shy young man. But online, the
24-year-old was the complete opposite—he forcefully incited jihadist
violence against Americans and Jews. And when FBI agents attempted to
talk to him in 2011, he reached for a loaded handgun in his pocket and
then bit the agents who disarmed him.

Today,
a federal judge sentenced Begolly to eight years and six months in
prison for soliciting others to engage in acts of terrorism within the
United States and for using a firearm in relation to an assault on FBI
agents. Begolly pled guilty in August 2011 after being indicted less than a month earlier.

“This is a guy who definitely had the
potential to hurt people,” said Special Agent Blake McGuire, who led
part of the investigation from our Pittsburgh office. “He was a
disaffected U.S. citizen who was susceptible to the message of violent
extremism, and he became self-radicalized on the Internet. That type of
offender—the so-called lone wolf—is extremely dangerous,” McGuire added,
“because they can be difficult to discover before they resort to
violence.”

Begolly came to the FBI’s attention in
2010 when he began posting violent material on an Islamic extremist
Internet forum. Using the pseudonym Abu Nancy, the Pennsylvania resident
and occasional college student solicited fellow jihadists to use
firearms and explosives against American police stations, post offices,
Jewish schools and daycare centers, military facilities, train lines,
and water plants. He further urged his audience to “write their legacy
in blood” and promised a special place in the afterlife for violent
action in the name of Allah.